Kem’s Rules

Kem’s consists in forming 4 identical cards or a “Kem’s” and to make your partner understand it thanks to a secret sign, without your opponents finding out. Discover the rule.

Material

To play Kem’s, you need:
-a number of 4 to 6 players
-a deck of 52 cards
-a paper and a pencil to keep track of the score

Setup

• Form teams of 2 players
• Each player positions themselves on the table so that one team is standing face to face
• Decide on the score that each team must reach to win the game
• Each team secretly organizes to form a sign that will allow them to signal their partner when one or the other has a kem’s

Example of a sign: blink your eyes, touch the tip of your nose, say a certain word, etc.
Be careful! It is forbidden to make a sign that the other players will not be able to see (example: touching each other under the table, sending text messages, etc.).

• After the decision of the signs, each player takes his place

How the game is played

• Shuffle the cards
• The dealer deals the cards one by one face down and gives 4 cards to each player in a clockwise direction
  NB: if a player receives the same cards 3 or 4 times after the deal, he shows them and discards all his cards face down. At that moment, he will have to draw 4 new cards from the deck.

  

• Once all the cards have been dealt, the dealer turns over the first 4 cards of the deck and lays them face up on the table.
• When the dealer says “Top”, the players can exchange cards from their deck with those on the table
• A player chooses a card from their deck, places it on the table and takes one of the 4 cards spread on the table in exchange, in order to make a square (4 identical cards or “Kem’s”)
• All players can exchange a card from their deck with the one on the table at the same time. The player just has to be faster than the other to get the card he wants.Please note! It is forbidden to have more than 4 cards in hand
• When there is no more exchange of cards for a few seconds, the dealer removes the 4 cards from the table, discards them face down and returns 4 new ones from the deckNB : the discarded cards must always remain hidden
• When he has finished turning over the 4 new cards face up on the table, he announces “Top” again to begin the exchange of cards
• The game continues in this way until a player manages to get 4 identical cards and his partner notices by shouting “Kem’s!”Note: When the deck is exhausted and no player has yet called out “Kem’s”, the discarded cards will be shuffled and serve as a new deck

End of the game

• The game ends when a player manages to form 4 identical cards first. At this point, he/she must make the sign that he/she and his/her partner made at the beginning of the game. If his partner has noticed the sign, he must call “Kem’s” and his team wins the game. After a Kem’s is called, the round ends.
• When a player manages to form 4 identical cards and his partner manages to announce “Kem’s”, the team receives 1 point, which will be noted in the paper. The team that wins the game is the one that manages to total the score that was set at the beginning of the game.

Remark:

• When two players of the same team manage to form 4 identical cards at the same time, the first one who notices the sign announces “kem’s”, the second one who notices the sign of the first one announces “double kem’s” and the team will receive 2 points and the round ends.
• If a player announces “kem’s” and his partner has not yet succeeded in forming the 4 identical cards, the opposing team will receive 1 point
• If a player notices that his opponent has made 4 identical cards or if he notices that a team is exchanging signs, he can call “counter-kem’s” and will receive 1 point (if he is not mistaken that his opponent has 4 identical cards)
• If a player calls “counter kem’s” and his opponent does not even have the same 4 cards, he will not be allowed to call “counter kem’s” until the end of the current round.